In the beginning, the sky was so close to the earth that anyone could reach up and take a piece to eat. It was a time of abundance where no one had to labor for food, for the sky provided everything from the taste of pineapples to roasted corn. The sky had only one rule: never take more than you can eat. For a long time, the people were mindful, but during a great festival, a woman named Adese grew greedy. She tore off a massive chunk of the sky, far more than she could consume. When she could not finish it, she tried to hide the remains in a rubbish heap. The sky, sensing the waste, grew dark and angry. 'I have given you everything,' the sky thundered, 'yet you waste my gifts.' Despite the warning, the waste continued. Fed up with human ingratitude, the sky sailed high into the heavens, far beyond the reach of man. From that day on, humans had to plow the fields and work the soil to survive.
Greed and wastefulness lead to the loss of nature's abundance; we must respect and preserve what we are given.
Questions about this story
What is the moral of Why the Sky is Far Away?
The moral is to avoid greed and respect the environment. It teaches that when we waste natural resources, we eventually lose the easy abundance nature provides.
Who is the main character in Why the Sky is Far Away?
The main human character is Adese, a woman whose greed leads her to take more from the sky than she can eat. The Sky itself acts as a sentient, divine character.
What did the sky taste like in the story?
The sky was said to taste like whatever the person desired most. It could taste like sweet berries, savory meats, or honeyed bread depending on the individual's wish.
Why did the sky move away from the earth?
The sky moved away because the people became wasteful and ignored its warnings. After Adese and others threw away leftovers they could not finish, the sky retreated to the heavens.
Advertisement
Good night.
